Footwear article of the slipper-sock type



Ammo, 1954 I J. C. DOUGHTY 2,675,631

FOOTWEAR OF' THE SLIPPER-SOCK TYPE Filed Feb. l5 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l prul 20, 1954 J. c. DOUGHTY 2,675,631

FOOTWEAR 0E THE SLIPPER-socx TYPE Filed Feb. 15, 1951 2 sheets-sheet 2 Figi.

/N VE N TOR Patented Apr. 20," 1954 `FoorWEAR` ARTICLE or THE SLIPPER-sook TYPE' f A John Carr-Doughty, Leicester, England Application February 13, 1951, Serial No. 210,701

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to articles for wear, and has rference particularly to such articles of the kind wherein a portion thereof consists of knitted fabricv and is joined to a separately made'portion of 'the' article.

4 According to this^invention there is provided an article for wear of thekind refer-red to, characterized in that the separately made portion of the article is joined to the knitted portion in such a way asto be readily detachable therefrom.

"Anf-important aspect of the invention is that the knitted portion is so made as to be adapted to preclude the possibility of damage to the edges thereof as and when, and after, the separately made portion is detached from the article, after wear. Thus, the idea is to provide on the knitted portion permanently sound and un-ruptured edges which will permit of the join between the said knitted portion and the separately produced portion being neatly and expeditiously re-made, as occasion demands.

It is principally the intention to apply the invention to articles of footwear such, for example, as leather-soled hose and so-called slipper-socks. In this connection, then, a feature of the invention consists of an article of footwear comprising a separately made foot bottom or sole section which is joined to a knitted instep portion in such a way as to -be readily detachable therefrom.

The entire foot of an article of footwearmay, however, be separately made and detachably joined to a knitted ankle or leg portion.

An advantage arising from the invention is that the knitted instep portion can, where appropriate, be readily detached from the foot bottom or sole section for washing, and thereafter as readily and neatly reattached either to the same, or to a freshY foot bottom or sole section. This applies more particularly to cases where the foot bottom or sole sectionris made of a material which cannot be washed like knitted fabric or might deteriorate or become otherwise spoiled by wetting. Or, in a case where the knitted instep portion is an expensively produced component as compared with the foot bottom` or sole section, the latter can, Whenworn out, be easily detachedand replaced by, anew section. Such may bedone,- for i11- stance, where the knitted instep portion is elaborately patterned or ornamentedto a customers individual requirementsA or taste.V In this way tHe-:effective life of the instep portionrcan be appreciably extended. Similar l remarks apply, to the case where, as may be, the foot bottom or sole sectionis an expensively produced component as comparedv with'the knitted instep portion inv Which instance thelattenfwhenvworn out, can bedetached and replaced bya new one, thereby prolonging the useful life of the :foot bottom or sole section. In'short, the idea istoperrnit of ready separation' ofthe joined parts of Vthe foo-t'where it is desired Kto" wash, clean or replace one part without the other. The -knitted instep portion may even be detachably joined to a medicated sole or pad, in which eventuality the sole or pad can be readily detached, 'recharged with medicative substances andA subsequently re-attached -without the knitted instep portion being impregnated with or otherwise fouled 4by' such substances. A`

Specific examples' of the invention will now be described with reference to the Vaccompanying drawings, wherein, l

Figure 1 is a' general perspective view of a leather-soled sock made in accordance with the invention,

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the foot bottom or sole section of the said article per se,

Figure 3 illustrates alternative means for joining together the' knitted instep portion and the foot bottom or sole section, and

'Figure 4 illustrates a fashioned knitted blank comprising an instep portion, an ankle section and a toe tab, the rblank being shown as it appears when laid out flat.

Like parts are'designated 4by similar reference characters throughoutthe drawings.

Referring to Figure 1 it will be seen that the' leather-soled sock thereindepicted comprises a separately made foot bottom or sole section I which is joined tofa knitted instep portionZ Iin such away as to be readily'detachable therefrom. The foot bottom or'sole section I is made up of a relatively thin leather sole"3, a comparatively narrow strip '4"of leather which is seamed at 5 around the periphery of the forepartand waist portions "of the said""sole,"and` an appropriately shaped heel portion 'of leather whichis similarly secured by the same seam '5 to the periphery of the remaining heel seat portion of Vvthe sole '3. The rear'ends da of the'strip 4 and the front ends 6aof the heel portion E are overlapped as shownv heell portion ii entirely formsthe sides of the heelv e pocket. If desired, adpieceof felt or equivalent material cut toA the's'am shape as the sole 3 and adapted to present a soft surface providing comfort to the wearer may be stuck to the top surface of the sole as indicated at 8 in Figure 2. The complete foot bottom or sole section I fabricated as described is, therefore, in the nature of a cavity sole within which the wearers foot snugly fits.

In this particular example, the knitted instep portion 2 constitutes a part of a fashioned knitted blank of the form shown in Figure 4. As will be seen, the instep portion 2 is knitted in one piece Vith a ribbed ankle section 9, and, from the lower end of this section, the blank is first narrowed, then merges into a section II) having parallel side edges I I and finally terminates in a substantially semi-circular toe tab I2.

As previously mentioned, an important and, it is believed, novel aspect of the invention resides in so making the knitted instep portion of the footwear as to prevent damage to the edges thereof during and after detachment therefrom of the foot bottom or sole section. For this purpose the knitted fabric of the said instep portion may, as clearly shown in Figure 4 be entirely selvedged around its periphery by suitably fashioning the wales of the knitted fabric suchwise as to secure the fabric against edge-rupture or laddering and at the same time present a neat and strong edge on the instep portion to and from which can be attached, and thereafter safely detached and subsequently neatly re-attached, the foot bottom or sole section. With regard to the fashioning of the wales a few of the marginal wales such as I3 adjoining the peripheral edges of the instep portion 2 may advantageously extend, as illustrated in Figure l, parallel to the said edges and hence also to the adjoining edges of the complementary foot bottom or sole section I. In fact, in Figure 4 the marginal wales I3 are shown extending parallel to and. right around the perimeter of the shaped instep portion 2 and the integral toe tab I2. The marginal wales thus correspond to the edge contour of the instep portion, thereby resulting in an attractive wale contour having the advantage of imparting to the complete article a novel and appealing finish. An additional advantage of such a Wale contour is that in an article such as that shown in Figure l, the change in material from, say, knitted wool to the leather is made to appear less abrupt. The invention therefore includes, as a feature, a component in the L form of a fashioned knitted blank constituting or including an instep portion (of an article of footwear) having rupture or ladder-proof selvedges.

The aforementioned change from knitted fabric to another material can in actual fact be made less abrupt (apart from merely appearing so) by thickening the selvedged edges of the instep portion, e. g. by the incorpora-tion in one or more of the marginal wales of a splicing thread. In this case, the thickness of the completed article from the foot bottom or sole section to the instep portion is reduced in stages, viz. first from the comparatively thick material of the foot bottom or sole section to the spliced and thickened selvedge of the instep portion and then from this selvedge to the relatively thinner main area of the instep portion. It is convenient to mention here that,V

merely for the purpose of illustration, the instep portion 2 shown in Figure 1 is patterned, whereas the instep portion of Figure 4 is depicted as being plain as, of course, it may be.

It is preferred to attach together the separable parts of the improved article of footwear by any conventional method of stitching, Sewing, or

seaming. In this connection it is possible to employ for the stitching, sewing or seaming operation either an ordinary yarn or thread or a special thread soluble in water or a chemical solvent. In the example illustrated in Figure l, the foot bottom or sole section I is joined both to the knitted instep portion 2 and the integral toe tab I2 by a woollen yarn I4 which is inserted by, say, a bodkin or a needle, in the form of fancy 'blanket or like stitches such as I5. To assist the insertion of the joining yarn I4, the foot bottom or sole section may be formed therearound with a series of uniformly spaced plain holes I6 (Figure l). Alternatively, these holes IB maybe eyeletted as shown at I'I in Figure 2,

Figure 3 shows a further method of joining together the separable parts, that is by means of a lacing thong or thread I8 which is laced through the holes I6 and, if desired, also holes such as I9 formed in the knitted instep portion and toe tab.

The invention, however, is by no means limited in these respects as the separable parts of the article may be attached together lby any other suitable means. For instance, sliding-clasp fasteners or press-stud, hook and eye or like fastenings comprising complementarily engageable elements provided on the respective parts may be employed for this purpose.

Instead of the knitted fabric of the instep portion being selvedged around its periphery by suitably fashioning the wales of the fabric as hereinbefore described, the edges of the said fabric may alternatively, and for the same purpose, be sealed, e. g. either by an edging sea-m `or by bonding, binding or massing together the fibres or threads at the edges by heat treatment or the application thereto of any suitable chemical, adhesive, plastic or the like.

It is, 4of course, also within the broad scope `of the invention to make the instep portion of a locked-stitch or ladderproof knitted fabric which can be cut to shape without the risk of subsequent fabric rupture.

Again, the foot bottom or sole section may be made of felt, woven fabric, moulded material, .such as rubber or plastic, or any appropriate combinations of ysuch materials. Or even a sole made from rope or string may be detachably joined to a knitted instep portion.

The instep portion, instead of being .combined with ankle section as hereinbefore described may, if desired, be combined with a leg. The ankle section or the leg may be knitted either in one piece with, or separebly from, the instep portion. Accordingly, the invention is generally applicable to knitted footwear of all types, e. g. hose, golf hose, three-quarter hose, half-hose and. socks. It is, however, also applicable to any appropriate class of footwear having a foot of a composite character .comprising separately made instep and foot bottom or sole portions. To

quote a ,further example the invention would include Within its scope such an article of Ifootwear specially designed for wear within a sea boot, Wellington or similar boot, or in conjunction with any boot, shoe or footwear when for reasons .of special wear 0r comfort o r other attribute, a separately made and detachable sole is desired to be allied to a knitted instep.

For the sake of convenience, the foregoing description has ybeen principally confined to articles of footwear, although it is to be clearly understood that there is no limitation .of `the invention in this respect, as it may also be applied to any other appropriate articles for wear. Thus, for

instance, also included within the scope of the invention is a glove or mitten of which, say, the hand portion is made separately from, and detachably joined to, a knitted wrist portion. O-r a separately made palm portion of a glove or mitten may be detachably joined to a complementary knitted portion covering the back of the hand.

What I claim then is:

1. In a footwear article of the slipper-sock type, a fashioned peripherally. selvedged knitted member, said member including a shaped instep portion, a ribbed ankle section knitted in one piece with said instep portion at one end thereof. and a toe tab knitted in onepiece with said instep portion at the opposite end of the instep portion, said ankle section, instep portion and toe tab terminating in a regular circumferential, lower continuous perimeter, a plurality of the marginal Wales of the knitted member extending parallel to and around the perimeter of the instep portion and toe tab to prevent damage to the perimeter by strengthening the perimeter, a sole member, an upstanding wall extending around the forepart and waist of the sole member, a heel pocket on said sole member, means securing said upstanding wall and heel pocket to the sole member, further means securing the upstanding wall to the heel pocket, and additional means detachably connecting the edge of said member to the edge of said upstanding Wall and heel pocket whereby the knitted member may be detached from said upstanding wall and heel pocket.

2. A footwear article of the slipper-sock type as dened in and claimed by claim 1, further characterized in that said additional means includes a plurality of spaced apertures provided in the upstanding wall and heel pocket, and a lacing element adapted to be passed through the edge of said knitted member and spaced apertures.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,498,829 Blum June 24, 1924 1,640,255 Schnieber Aug. 23, 1927 1,803,554 Knilans May 5, 1931 2,147,197 Glidden Feb. 14, 1939 2,314,098 McDonald Mar. 16, 1943 2,541,020 Arnold Feb. 13, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Numb er Country Date 475,912 Great Britain Nov. 29, 1937 866,772 France June 9, 1941 

